


Life Light

by Naveri



Series: Lauki Week 2020 🖤 [3]
Category: Purple Hyacinth - Ephemerys & Sophism (Webcomic)
Genre: AU since Lauki haven't technically met yet, Colors, Cute, F/M, Fluff, Kieran is captivated, Love at First Sight, Magic, Parallels, Romance, Super sweet sugary goodness, artwork, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:42:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27032890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naveri/pseuds/Naveri
Summary: Born in a world of black and white. Two unlikely individuals come together in a meeting of magical, mystical, and mesmerizing proportions.Lauki Week 2020 - Colors Prompt
Relationships: Lauren Sinclair & Kieran White, Lauren Sinclair/Kieran White
Series: Lauki Week 2020 🖤 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1969480
Comments: 5
Kudos: 50





	Life Light

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is! Colors Prompt for Lauki Week 2020.
> 
> The lyrics are from a song called Colors by CrazyEightyEight and they scream Lauki.
> 
> There was a ton of songs that represented colors that fit with Lauki shockingly, and I'd use them all if I could but, I picked this one in the end.

In a world of color, two individuals lived in the bleak and dull reality of black and white. Lauren Sinclair, hair as vibrant as red spider lilies, and eyes that of the sun, could not see these assets. No matter the compliments she received, she could not see _herself._ Despite this dreary outlook on life, she got by. She was happy. She was a detective. She had friends. She was well off. What more could she want? At least she could see, and so, she was thankful for that alone. 

_Everything is grey_

_His hair, his smoke, his dreams_

_And now he's so devoid of color_

_He don't know what it means_

_And he's blue, and he's blue_

Kieran White, however, was not so fortunate. Growing up in an orphanage, little to no money, and most days he lived off nothing. Once he was too old to live in the orphanage, he was stuck on the streets. Resorting to some of the worst decisions he’d make in his life. Including becoming a circus freak, _okay that was pretty great,_ and becoming an assassin for the Phantom Scythe, a terrorist organization roping him into a life of crime...to kill for money. He had to become dangerous so that he didn’t become prey. So, he became the most dangerous, famed killer of Ardhalis; the _Purple Hyacinth._ Silly that a color was part of his name, when in fact he had no idea what purple even looked like. 

His actions were noble in a sense, but it was only out of the rawness of his heart that he couldn’t turn his back on the other orphans. He knew the paths they took, and there was one in particular that had flared him up with anger. But that was the tantalizing deal when it came to the Phantom Scythe. It gave him the opportunity to kill off some of those scumbags consorting with that kind of work. He wanted to protect all the children living there, suffering just the way he did. So, to him, it was easy. _Killing._ His world had always been full of black and white, quite literally and figuratively. Choices were made and it was one or the other. Stay numb or succumb to your emotions? Survive or die. Black and white. He accepted that nothing bright or vivid would come of his world. 

That was until he was ripped from his thoughts at the sight he never imagined he’d behold. A particular woman of elegant visage walked by him. He stood there facing forward in shock. No, she wasn’t just gorgeous, she was shining. With beautiful locks of... _what is that, red?_ He froze. Whipping around to see the color trails pass him by, flutters of red and yellow that soon morphed into blues and greens. A cloak of color. How’d he know what colors they were? _What was going on!?_

Kieran’s eyes hastily scanned around the city surrounding him, cars whizzed by, busy citizens rushing past one another on the sidewalk. _They were all shades of grey._ He shot his focus back to the woman now walking away from him. Tails of color shimmering up from behind her, and encompassing her lengthy form was that of the rainbow he had only known from stories. She radiated color. _Why. Why? WHY!_ He couldn’t ignore this, so he followed her. He was good at trailing people without being noticed. That was his job after all. His eyes were pinned. He couldn’t even blink. She was a canvas in motion and he’d no doubt recreate it. Kieran’s vision consumed the rays of light glowing around her body. No one else seems to notice, but why would they. They can see this, every single day.

_This is what it’s like?_

She had a beautiful yellow dress on, a white belt decorating her waist, and her long burgundy hair fell to her shoulders. It swayed along with her hips, her form stealthily slipping through the crowd. She didn’t move like any woman he’d ever seen. Kieran pushed along with ease. She was heading for the busier part of town. Thankfully, she was so bright in his vision he couldn’t lose sight of her. His feet came to a halt when he saw her wave to someone. 

_Damn it, I can’t just stalk this woman all day._

The woman she waved to cheered out, jumping up and down. “Lauren!!” They giggled, crossing arms and prancing off into a coffee shop. _Should I wait? No. I have things I need to do. Lauren...hmm_. He had faith he’d be able to find her identity, somehow. When he had time. With that he spun on his heel, his back to the beauty of rainbow clouds vanishing into the shop.

* * *

Lauren unlaced her arm from her best friend. Kym was chattering away about Hermann giving Will and her a hard time. “I honestly didn’t mean to spill the coffee on the papers, again. Instead, Will gets yelled at because of my clumsiness. I should really apologize...ughhh.”

“Hermann doesn’t even care who’s fault it is, if he can yell at someone everyday he’s happy. Just apologize to Will, maybe, you know, take him out for some coffee, instead of me?”

Kym’s finger pointed at herself in shock. “What!? Me? I don’t know…”

“Oh come oh, I know you like him.”

“I do...definitely **_not._ ** _”_

The two giggled, waiting in line for their coffee. Lauren froze and her laughter stopped all at once. Her eyes shot to the bulletin board on the wall in front of her. Kym noticed her gaze, turning to look at the plentiful artwork and writing upon the board. 

“What?”

She pushed out of line, rushing up to the board to stare at the drawing. It was a field of flowers, a large willow tree encompassing the center. Kym perked up over her shoulder, eyes switching between her and the art. “You like this drawing?”

“Kym...I can see it. I can see _colors.”_

“What!? Um, but Lauren, that’s done in pencil. There is no color. What about this one, can you see the colors on this watercolor?” Kym pointed to the one further to the right. 

Lauren sighed. “It’s just black and white. So, you’re telling me this is pencil shaded for you?” Her eyes fell back to the color. It was still, frozen in time like any other drawing, but she was almost certain she could see it come to life beneath her stare. It reeled her in, wrapped her up, made her warm.

“Absolutely, yeah. You’re joking right, come on, knock it off.” Kym looked on in worry at her best friend. She was frozen there, eyes wide, just staring. Until the waterworks came. She shattered beneath the overwhelming pressure of the thought. Something she never thought possible, came to life, right in front of her.

“I can. I can see them.” Lauren choked up, tears welling to the edges of her eyes. “They’re so beautiful, Kym…” She started sobbing right there in the coffee shop. Patrons looked toward them, whispering in worry or curiosity. Kym pulled her away and out of the shop to calm her down. 

“It’s okay, I’m sorry. This is probably really overwhelming.” 

Lauren choked up a sob, stepping back and running into the coffee shop. She snatched the drawing from the board, the coffee shop employee yelling after her.

“Hey! Lady! You can’t just steal art from the board!”

She rushed off out of the shop, passing by Kym and heading around the corner. Kym’s eyes widened in shock at the abrasiveness. Lauren’s hands shook, flipping the thick paper around to see a signature in the corner.

_Kieran White_

“I have to find this person. I’ll look in the records at work.”

“You just stole this artwork and now you’re going to abuse your job to stalk some guy? I love this new Lauren!” Kym smirked, rubbing her hands together in delight. “I’ll help you, let’s go give Will a visit while we’re at it. Maybe it’s time for me to be a little daring myself.” 

* * *

Kieran stumbled home, exhausted from a night of doing a stake out for a mission. It bored him to tears. The leader didn’t want him to kill this hot shot just yet, instead trying to figure out his daily routines to set up the perfect time to get rid of the scumbag... _once the order was given_. Just another drug lord poisoning the poorer parts of Ardhalis. He couldn’t wait to slice his throat. So wrapped up in his thoughts he didn’t notice the woman he passed by sitting on the stairs on the way to his apartment door.

“Excuse me, are you Kieran White?”

  
  


He froze at the voice, spinning around to see the same beautiful array of colors from earlier penetrating his eyes. _Holy shit, it’s her. She is quite literally a field of color. Why is she here?_ He noticed her holding a piece of paper. It looked like the same kind of paper he drew on--- _wait a minute._ That’s what happened to his drawing, it was in fact her that took it. He thought back from earlier in the coffee shop before going on the late night stake out, and also because there was a tiny bit of hope he’d see her there still. Which he didn’t.

* * *

“Hey, George, where’s my artwork?” Kieran was poking at the empty spot on the bulletin board.

The worker dried his hands with a rag, a laugh escaping him. “Some crazy woman took it. Guess you got a fan.” 

“What did she look like?” 

Kieran never disclosed he was colorblind to people, it seemed unnecessary. “Uh, long red hair, amber eyes, yellow dress. She frequents this place. She’s the niece of the Chief of Police.”

Guess he didn’t have to go searching for her identity anymore. What do you know, that was a lot easier than he thought. But why did she take his drawing?

* * *

Now standing before him _was her, the detective._ He would at least know why she took it now. “Um, yes. That is me.” 

“Your art.”

A charming tease escaped him by pure habit. “You’re quite the fan, finding my address from just my name and coming here. I have to admit, I'm impressed. That’s pretty brave of you. Especially in the middle of the night.” He had taken a step forward now, towering over her from a step above and gazing down at her wide eyes staring back. It was just his excuse to absorb the colors seeping from her form. Now that he could see her face clearly, her skin was pale, and those eyes...vivid amber shining in the moonlight. However, her hair kept his focus. Flowing in the night breeze. Red had never been so gorgeous. Maybe because this is the first time he was really seeing it.

_Is that what all my crime scenes look like? Probably. At least she wears it better than my victims._

“I’m sorry, this is really weird of me. I don’t normally do things like this, but I had to meet the owner of this drawing. I have a pressing question. It couldn't wait until morning."

Kieran noticed a shiver come from her, whether from her circumstances or the chilly breeze, it was only proper of him to invite her in. So, he did. Waving his arm and heading to the door. She followed cautiously, following him in to stand by the entrance awkwardly. He shrugged off his coat, hanging it up and lazily walked to the kitchen to grab them some water. 

“Make yourself at home. You know, it’s not very nice. Stealing art.” 

“I can assure you, there is a good reason.” 

Lauren pursed her lips, kicking off her heels to walk into the living room and sitting down on the couch. She still held the artwork close to her, as if it was her very lifeline. _She looked so delicate_. Kieran drank her in. If it wasn’t odd enough that she was glowing like that of a firefly, she was also the first person to ever visit his house. He almost convinced himself he was dreaming, but that couldn’t be possible. He never had good dreams. And especially one of color. His stare continued, focusing on the way her eyes hit the paper of the artwork. It pulled him in. Nostalgia and sadness all wrapped up in a neat little bow. He could tell she was nervous. Was he that scary?

“You can have it. It seems you’re quite drawn to it. Do you know the place? Maybe, a special memory for you?”

“I honestly don’t know the location.”

“Oh.” Kieran rubbed the back of his head, grabbing for the two glasses of water and sitting down on the couch next to her. His long fingers reached out, plucking the paper from her grip to lay it out for both of them to see. He remembers drawing this one. It was recent. A beautiful day too. His photographic memory couldn’t escape this particular place. Having only the pleasure of visiting it once during the summer, which was almost a year ago now. But it came back. In his dreams. His daydreams. Everywhere. So he drew it. 

“So, what’s the reason?”

“I can see them.” She gave him a pinned look, her body turning sideways to face him and her leg coming up to rest near his thigh. Her eyes were still vibrant, and now the colors spilled out onto his cushions-- _-my couch is dark green?_ _This whole time? Going to have to get a new couch._ Anything around her became alive... _why is this happening?_ He gulped, overwhelmed by the ambush of colors assaulting his vision but at the same time he drank them up, every last drop. She was an enigma, some miracle, a mystery waiting to be solved. She noticed his stare, clearing her throat. Whatever she had said, it fell on deaf ears. 

  
  


_You're dripping like a saturated sunrise_

_You're spilling like an overflowing sink_

_You're ripped at every edge but you're a masterpiece_

_And now you're tearing through the pages and the ink_

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“I said I can see them. I know this work is done with pencil, but I can see them. I can see colors in this artwork.”

He froze, staring down at it in awe. He still held onto it, pushing it closer to her until he saw it. He saw _them._ The colors, that of liquid grains of sand melting onto the page. _Her colors._ His artwork, dull and grey now came to life, like he tried to imagine when he sat in that field. 

He couldn’t even release his statement as a question. “You see...color.”

“I know this sounds crazy. I’m sorry, this was a mistake.”

He stopped her, pushing her back down when she went to stand. 

“No! Please. Stay still.” He pushed the paper onto her lap and watched the rest of the field come to life. Flowers...all of them, flourishing into colors of pink, purple, red, yellow, blue. The great willow tree, a brush of brown upon its trunk and green pooling out to paint the leaves. He didn't understand how he knew all of these colors. But it registered to him as if he had seen it all before. 

“I...can see them too.” 

She stared up in shock, nodding with excitement at his confession. “Of course you can, that makes sense! I mean, you are the visionary, after all. But...my friend, she said it was in pencil shading, she didn’t see the colors. I don’t understand why or how any of this is happening, but I think it’s connected to you.” 

“Listen. I--did draw it in pencil. I didn’t see any color then, I can only see it right now. When it’s close to you.”

“What?”

“I draw in pencil...because I’m colorblind. I only see black and white.” 

Lauren’s heart dropped, but fluttered all the same. Her hand came to her now open lips, trying to stop the prick of tears escaping her. She _finally_ met someone like herself.

“That’s...this is strange. I am as well.” She whispered, and couldn’t resist stretching her hand to reach for his. His breath hitched, and then he saw it, his tan skin upon his fingers. She was bringing him to life. She was painting him. It invigorated him. 

_And now I'm covered in the colors_

_Pulled apart at the seams_

“This can't be a coincidence.” 

Head turning in confusion, she watched him stand as he spoke. “Both of us are colorblind, and yet we can see color in this art? And you--”

“And me?”

She stood nervously and he stepped toward her, his eyes unable to look away as he observed her from up and down. She noticed, turning nervously a tick and tucking away a strand of loose hair. He was close to her, and he whispered, gazing on at the vibrant woman before him. His fingers slipped to one side of his artwork and the colors breached the paper, flooding over him and up his arms.

“You---you are full of vibrant colors as I stand here looking at you. You’re dripping like a saturated sunrise. I can see them. I can see your eyes. They’re like rays of amber, your hair, scorched with fire. Your dress, like sunflowers basking in the light. Everything about you is seeping with color.”

“Wh--what?” Now she was confused. Eyes staring on at the way the colors fell over him, seeping into his clothing and brightening up the room. _He was right. The colors from the artwork are moving._ It reached his eyes, shimmers of blue pooling over. A still painting, coming to life. Just like his work. He pulled her from her gaze, her eyes catching the slight tint of red on his cheeks. 

“Come to my drawing room, I need to see something.” He took her by the hand, leading her into the door on the right wall. His hand swiftly reached for the key atop the door, shifting inside until they both stood there at the entrance. Lauren’s gaze was wide, her feet rushing to the middle of the room and spinning around, arms spread wide. She started laughing, in shock or hilarity, he wasn’t sure. It lit up the room for him. The more happy she got, the more colors spilled from her essence. The wood upon the floor, a faded brown. His desk, a rustic silver. It was stellar. It brought everything to life in this once dark and dreary room of black and white. And all the while he was still trying to comprehend how his mind recognized any of it.

“Oh my god! I can see them. I can see all of it! COLORS! Kieran!” 

He smiled, gazing over the walls. They were still black and white for him, but it made him so immensely happy for this woman to _somehow_ see his work in color. For someone to see what he imagined, only in his wildest of dreams. It was a miracle, truly. A magical gift. For both her and him. 

“That’s incredible. Just so you know, you’re more than welcome to take some of my art. I have plenty.” 

“Really!?” Lauren reached for his hands, golden eyes sparkling with joy. He could look into them forever.

He nodded in approval, letting her hover over all his work and pick out things she liked. She would describe the colors to him, and he’d ask for her to put them near her so he too could see them for a short while. They were brilliant. Vibrant. Spectacular. They were _her colors._ She painted his work. In all her joy, happiness, and blooming energy. He felt something while staring down at her while she took in all his drawings. She... _completed him_ and that thought scared the hell out of him. He didn’t even know this woman, and yet he let her linger a bit more, until she had a stack of art tucked underneath her arms. He gave her a protective slip to put them in and offered to walk her home. On their way out she stopped at the doorway.

“I’m sorry. I never introduced myself, that’s so rude. I’m Lauren, Lauren Sinclair.” Her hand shot out, and he obliged, taking it completely. Her fingers, tiny little paint brushes that caressed along his arm in color. He saw it come to life, and spread upward until it reached his elbow.

“So, you can see the color...right now?” 

Kieran barely managed to respond with a whisper, too wrapped up in the smoky colors merging together and painting themselves to life. “Yes, you are dunked head to toe in color as we speak.”

She hummed in thought, staring down at their hands clasped. “Strange…” 

He left his trance, pulling away and slowly his arm fell into the abyss of grey once more. “It was nice meeting you, Lauren. Now let’s get you home before it gets too late in the night.” 

On the way to her home, he was getting drunk off her image. She was a vision to behold, lighting up the world around her and giving him new memories to cling to when he would draw next time. He would never let these colors go, these visions, these memories, these wonders. Kieran acted as if he’d never see her again, or tomorrow they’d wake up and either it was all a dream or none of it would ever happen again. _Or would it?_ Once they arrived at the Sinclair Manor, he walked her to the door, suddenly shy at the notion. _We weren’t on a date or anything, get a grip._ He asked the pestering question he left on the tip of his tongue the whole walk there.

“Would you like to meet again? Perhaps, a coffee?” 

She smiled, color and all pulling him in. “I’d love that. I honestly would like to understand this phenomenon a bit more, if you don’t mind being my test subject.”

“Same to you, darling. It’s a date.”

Perking an eyebrow, she crossed her arms over the slip full of precious artwork. “I never said that.”

Kieran frowned. “Oh? That’s too bad.”

“Fine, it’s a date” she sighed, giving him another big smile.

Lighting up with joy, he brushed away a lock of hair from his face. “Wonderful, this weekend then. Goodnight, Lauren.”

Turning away from him and toward the door, she opened it, waving him off. 

“Goodnight, Kieran.” 

Once the door was shut, his rainbow world fell away and drifted back into the dark depths of his dreary, murky life. His heart lurched and his breath felt heavy. _He felt heavy._ Depressed. She was a shot of serotonin straight to his soul. But that feeling faded, just like her colors. Because deep down inside he knew this wouldn’t last. Like anything else in his life. She was a cop, and he was an assassin. She was pure and innocent and bright. And he was tainted; A sinner, and full of darkness. Lauren seemed smart, she’d find out eventually and all of it would come crashing down on him. He couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing her or the world she gave him again. So he’d stay his distance, it was after all, only one date. What could possibly go wrong?

  
  


_You were red and you liked me 'cause I was blue_

_You touched me and suddenly I was a lilac sky_

_And you decided purple just wasn't for you_

**Author's Note:**

> For some reason, I change a lot as I was working on this, and over time started to hate it, began scrapping things etc...maybe the fluff was too much for me, I was really tempted to add some brutal angst. I sat there wondering if I should even post it because when I dislike something I write, I burn it normally. I don't know why, maybe because it was too AU for my taste. Lauki not meeting yet kind of had me in this weird position of writing Lauren, being sweet to Kieran. Which---I don't do well. She has no reason to be rude to him, unless he you know was his normal jackass egoistical self, but in this case with fluff and their desire to see color together, they were too wrapped up in awe to really judge one another's character outside of that situation. So, when I read through a couple times to edit, I was struggling because this is really outside of my realm of comfort when writing these two. 
> 
> Anyway, this is my favorite concept of the entire Lauki Week in general. It's really touching and overwhelming, and I don't see Kieran acting like Lauren in any capacity when it comes to seeing color for the first time. He'd be really reserved, observant, and mostly awe inspired. He'd want to consume it all and never forget it, so that's why he wasn't as emotional as Lauren. He does well to keep his in check. Also, look at me over here slipping in some Kywi hints HAHA, I can't help myself! And Hermann hate train, yeah can't help myself there either. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this one!! I am currently working on the snowstorm fic (if you're reading this later, go check it out it's the next fic in the series) and it's gonna be massive. Like--it's at about 5000 words and we're not even at the spice yet. Which, by the way, will be a separate chapter from the rest of the Prompt. I decided to split up the spice, to give the reader the choice if they'd like to proceed forward because it's gonna get VERY HOT in this VERY COLD environment. 
> 
> TY AGAIN FOR READING! Kudos/Comments fuel my desire to continue writing for all of you <3


End file.
